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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 05/15/2001 Kent, Washington May 15, 2001 The regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7 : 00 PM by Mayor Jim White . Councilmembers present : Amodt, Brotherton, Clark, Epperly, Orr, and Yingling. Others present : Interim Chief Administrative Officer Martin, Deputy City Attorney Brubaker, Fire Chief Angelo, Public Works Director Wickstrom, Finance Director Miller, Planning Manager Satterstrom, and Parks Director Hodgson. Approximately 35 people were at the meeting. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Item 6U, Excused Absence for Councilmember Woods, was added to the Consent Calendar by Council President Orr; a correction to the minutes of March 6, 2001 was made by Councilmember Amodt : Item 6D, School Impact Fees, where it says, "the Building Industry Association of Washington favoring the fees" should read "the Building Industry Association of Washington did not favor the impact fees" . Continued Communications Items 11A and 11B were added at the request of audience members . PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS Emergency Medical Services Week. Mayor White read a proclamation noting that Emergency Medical Services is a vital public service and the team members are ready to provide life saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He proclaimed the week of May 13-19, 2001 as Emergency Medical Services Week in the City of Kent and encouraged citizens and employees to observe the week by participating in programs, ceremonies and activities in our neighborhoods, businesses, and schools . Fire Chief Angelo accepted the proclamation and said that everything that happens in King County is a matter of partnership with the public . He stressed that the medical technicians and paramedics were some of the finest, and said the relationship between King County Fire District 37 and the City of Kent has been extremely valuable to this community, as they have been leaders in pulling people and resources together from different agencies and putting aside boundaries to provide the best service to the public. Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS Fire Department Citizen Award Presentation. Fire Lieutenant Pat Pawlak said six year old Ali Burns did something really incredible on March 27, 2001 . Ali' s mother, Jamie, suffered a seizure that morning and Ali found her not responding. She picked up the phone and dialed 911, which she had learned about a month before when firefighters visited her school and talked about fire safety and 911 . Pawlak commended Ali' s parents for sharing Mrs . Burns' medical problem with their daughter and preparing her for what to do if she someday found her mother not responsive . Ali was presented with a certificate, medallion, and a tee-shirt honoring her for her selfless act of giving the gift of life. Mental Health Month. Mayor White said that the U.S . Surgeon General has stated that mental illness affects one in five Americans every year regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or economic status . He noted that Kent has made a commitment to community based systems of mental health care for all residents, and He called upon all citizens, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, and schools to recommit our community to increasing awareness and understanding of mental illness and the need for appro- priate and accessible services for all people with mental illnesses . Marilyn LaSalle, Valley Cities Counseling and Consultation, accepted the proclamation and thanked the City of Kent and the Council for the support they've given to Valley Cities . She said 30 staff provide services to 8, 500 people in South King County each year and over 2000 live in Kent . The City of Kent has set the standard in the area for support of human services . Public Works Week. Mayor White read a proclamation declaring that public works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizens' every day lives, and the health, comfort, and safety of this community greatly depends on those facilities and services . He proclaimed the week of May 21-25, 2001 as 2 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS Public Works Week in the City of Kent and encouraged all citizens and civic organizations to acquaint themselves with the issues involved in providing our public works, and to recognize the contributions which Public Works officials and staff make every day to our health, safety, comfort, and quality of life. Public Works Director Don Wickstrom accepted the proclamation. Senior Center Week. Mayor White read a proclamation noting that older Americans are significant members of our society, investing their wisdom and experience to help enrich and better the lives of younger generations . The Kent Senior Center has acted as a catalyst for mobi- lizing the possibilities, creativity, energy, vitality, and commitment of the older residents of Kent . He proclaimed May 13-19, 2001 as Senior Center Week and encouraged citizens to recognize the special contribu- tions of the Senior Center participants, and the special efforts of staff and volunteers that work every day to enhance the well-being of the older citizens of our community. Lea Bishop, Kent Senior Center Manager, accepted the proclamation and thanked the City of Kent and Council for their continued support over the years of the Senior Program. Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Mayor White said the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is being presented by the Government Finance Officers' Association of the United States and Canada to the City' s Finance Department for achieving the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting for their comprehensive annual financial reports . John Hillman, Assistant Finance Director, accepted the certificate. Spirit of Caring Award. Katherin Johnson, Human Services Manager, related that last winter the City of Kent proclaimed February 28, 2001 Homeless Awareness Day in the City, and City departments were challenged to a competition to see which department could make the most hygiene packs for the homeless, per capita. Over 2 , 300 3 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS packs were donated by City employees . In recognition of the work and caring by City of Kent employees, Catholic Community Services has presented to the City their Spirit of Caring Award. O t-- CONSENT CALENDAR W ORR MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A through U. Clark seconded and the motion carried. W C= MINUTES W (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6A) d W O Approval of Minutes. APPROVAL of the minutes of the VW regular Council meeting of March 1, 2001 . W f— CC = BILL OF SALE CC _Z (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6S) CD Lake Fenwick Road Watermain Extension. ACCEPT the Bill of Sale for Lake Fenwick Road Watermain Extension submitted by Half, LLC for continuous operation and maintenance of 2700 feet of watermain, and release of bonds after the expiration period, as recommended by the Public Works Director. The project is located at 26707 Lake Fenwick Road South. PLANNING (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7A) Kentview Pod H Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Senior Planner Charlene Anderson said the original applica- tion for Kentview was part of the year 2000 annual Comprehensive Plan amendment process . The amendment was to change the property from three units per acre and agricultural zoning to six units per acre. The Land Use and Planning Board considered the amendment and recom- mended denial . The City Council then sent it to the Planning Committee who recommended tabling the amendment until an agricultural land use study was completed. Since that time, the applicants have requested an amendment to their application to three dwelling units per acre rather than six. The City Council untabled the amendment and sent the request back to the Land Use and Planning Board. The Board took no action, and it is now before Council again. Staff recommends approval of the amendment to SR-3 and SF-3 , the Comprehensive Plan 4 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PLANNING designation of three dwelling units per acre and a zoning designation of three dwelling units per acre. BROTHERTON MOVED to approve the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Land Use and Zoning Maps of SF-3 and SR-3 (Single Family Residential 3 . 63 single family dwelling units per acre) respectively for Kentview Pod H and to direct the City Attorney to prepare the neces- sary ordinance . Clark seconded. Brotherton spoke in favor of the motion, saying the property is currently partially zoned agricultural and the City concurs the land is no longer usable as agricultural, so the best use should be made for it . The applicants have made numerous adjustments to their plans to satisfy neighbors' concerns and it is appropriate to rezone . The motion then carried. BORDEN PROPERTY (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11B) Borden Property. Joe Rubio, 3831 S . 248th, Kent, said one of the Hunter Interest Group consultants mentioned that for many cities who go into an adventure like this, the land is typically given to the developer or sold at an extremely low price . In view of that, a survey was taken of over 1, 000 people on the West Hill and Downtown. Over 900 said they were not willing to lose $11, 000, 000 to a developer. They also asked if the Arts Center land was included in that package, which would drive the price up to over $13 , 000, 000 . Rubio stated that with the economic news coming out, it' s a little premature to be spending all that money, and the climate is not right as there are no developers willing to spend their own money. He commented that his understanding was that the Arts Center was on hold, and said Tom Brotherton had stated three times last year that the land would be sold if the Arts Center levy failed. Mayor White responded by saying there was no intent for the City of Kent to give away the Borden property. The Performing Arts property will become part of the pack- age, and the project is out with Request for Proposals right now. Interviews for selection of the developer 5 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 BORDEN PROPETY will take place July 11, 2001 . It' s anticipated that the City will recover the costs of the property in this project . He added that the people he had talked to on the West Hill and East Hill had not mentioned the issue to him. Yingling commented that he was the Council representa- tive on the committee looking at the developers applying to work on the project . The committee is putting performance measures on the developer' s, one of which is a revenue performance measure. Right now the City is getting about $45, 000 a year in property tax revenue and very little other revenue coming from the property such as sales taxes. This project will potentially bring in revenue ten times the current rate . In the long-term the City should see the recovery of the money that has been put into the project and will be much better off 5- 10 years from now. PUBLIC WORKS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6I) LID 354, N. Washington Avenue and W. Meeker Street Improvement Bids. CONFIRM the rejection of all bids received on the LID 354, N. Washington Avenue and W. Meeker Street Improvement project . All bids for this project were rejected by the Public Works Director due to the bid amounts greatly exceeding the Engineer' s Cost Estimate and the fact that only two bids were received. The City is in the process of re-evaluating the project components and intends to re-bid it in the near future. (BIDS - ITEM 8A) LID 350 - Big K Sanitary Sewer & Water Main Replacement. The bid opening for this project was held on April 18th with eight (8) bids received. The low bid was submitted by R.L. Alia Company in the amount of $1, 246, 183 .45 . The Engineer' s estimate was $2 , 028, 124 .48 . The Public Works Director recommends awarding this project to R.L. Alia Company. CLARK MOVED to award the LID 350 Big K Sanitary Sewer & Watermain contract to R.L. Alia Company in the amount of $1, 246, 183 .45 . Epperly seconded the motion and it carried. 6 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PUBLIC WORKS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6J) Hillside Manor Water Latecomer Agreement. AUTHORIZATION for the Public Works Director to execute a Water Latecomer Agreement with the Ellenswood Corporation for the plat of Hillside Manor, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6K) Hillside Manor Sewer latecomer Agreement. AUTHORIZATION for the Public Works Director to execute a Sewer Latecomer Agreement with the Ellenswood Corporation for the plat of Hillside Manor, as recommended by the Public Works Committee. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6R) Two Hour Parking Ordinance. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3556 imposing two new two-hour parking zones to additional locations at 316 Second Avenue South and the entire span of Railroad Avenue from Meeker Street to Gowe Street, as recommended by the Public Works Committee. The City of Kent has received concerns from local businesses regarding the lack of parking for its customers on Second Avenue South and Railroad Avenue. In order to assist these local businesses, the Public Works Committee has recommended that two (2) parking stalls located directly in front of Dobson Muller Certified Public Accountants, 316 Second Avenue South, and the entire span of Railroad Avenue from Meeker Street to Gowe Street be limited to parking in no more than two (2) hour increments . In order to effectuate these new parking limitations, it is necessary to amend section 9 . 38 . 060 of the Kent City Code, entitled "Two (2) hour parking zones, " by adding these two (2) new locations . COUNCIL (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6U) (ADDED AT THE REQUEST OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT ORR) Excused Absence For Councilmember Woods. APPROVAL of an excused absence from tonight' s meeting for Councilmember Woods, who was unable to attend. 7 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6C) 2001 Replacement Computers. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign purchase orders for replacement computers, payable to Washington State Department of Information Service, not to exceed $167, 000, as recommended by the Operations Committee. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6D) Telephone System Maintenance Contract. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign a contract with Qwest Communications for telephone system maintenance, subject to City Attorney review and approval , as recom- mended by the Operations Committee. GRANTS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6E) Year 2002 Community Development Block Grant Funding. ACCEPT the Year 2002 CDBG Pass Through Funds and AUTHORIZE the Mayor to sign the CDBG agreement allocating the City' s maximum available CDBG funds for human services program planning and administration, as recommended by the Parks Committee . Capital Funding for the City' s Home Repair Program and partial construction costs for the Lutheran Social Service Child Care Facility is proposed, as well as partial funds for acquisition of Kent ' s One Stop Human Service Center and KCHA Southwood Square Apartments . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6L) Transportation Improvement Board Grant, Meeker Street, Washington Avenue to 64th Avenue South. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the TIB grant agreement, authorize staff to accept the grant ($728, 334) and establish a budget for the funds to be spent within said road improvement project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6M) Transportation Improvement Board Grant. Washington Avenue HOV Lanes. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the TIB grant agreement, authorize staff to accept the grant ($384, 000) and establish a budget for the funds to 8 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 GRANTS be spent within said road improvement project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6N) King County Signal Grant, SR 99 . AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor or his designee to sign the King County Grant agreement, authorize staff to accept the grant ($25, 000) and establish a budget for the funds to be spent within said road improvement project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 60) King County Signal Grant, West Valley Highway. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor or his designee to sign the King County Grant agreement, authorize staff to accept the grant ($55, 000) and establish a budget for the funds to be spent within said road improvement project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6P) Washington State department of Transportation Grant, S. 277th Street, Freight Mobility Funds. AUTHORIZATION for staff to accept the grant ($13 , 800, 000 . 00) and establish a budget for the funds to be spent within said road project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6Q) Washington State Department of Transportation Grant, S. 277th Street, Highways and Local Programs. AUTHORIZATION for staff to accept the grant ($1, 942 , 119 . 00) and estab- lish a budget for the funds to be spent within said road project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . PARKING GARAGE (HEARING - ITEM 5A) Kent Commuter Rail Station Garage Conditional Use Permit Appeal. This is a closed record appeal hearing of the decision of the Hearing Examiner approving a conditional use permit for the Kent Commuter Rail Station Garage applied for by the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority. Orr stated that Council was in receipt of a letter dated May 14th asking for a continuance of this public hearing. 9 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 PARKING GARAGE She MOVED to accept the request for the continuance into the record and continue the appeal to the June 5, 2001 Council meeting. The motion was seconded by Clark. Mayor White suggested that, as this was the second time the hearing had been moved and a lot of staff time goes into it each time, the public hearing should be held next time or the contest dropped. The motion then carried. PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6F) Kronisch Park Easement to U.S. West. APPROVE the easement to Kronisch Park and ACCEPT the $1, 500 . 00 from U. S . West, amending the Land Acquisition budget, as recommended by the Parks Committee . U.S . West has requested an additional easement at Kronisch Park for a cabinet located adjacent to the easement granted in January 2000 . U. S . West has offered to pay $1, 500 . 00 for the additional easement . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6G) IAC Grant Application Program. APPROVAL of the Interagency for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) grant applications by the adoption of Resolution No. s 1589, 1590 , and 1591 in the form of resolutions for acqui- sition of property at Turnkey Park, Service Club Ballfields and East Hill Extreme Park, as recommended by the Parks Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6H) Service Club Ballfields Donations. ACCEPT AND AMEND BUDGET as recommended by the Parks Director for the $4 , 500 donation from Kent Sunrise Rotary Club. FACILITIES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6T) Interagency Agreement with Department of General Administration, Energy Savings Plan. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to sign the Interagency Agreement with the Department of General Administration to implement and maintain a successful energy savings plan for the City, as recommended by the Operations Committee and subject to City Attorney review and approval . 10 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6B) Approval of Bills. APPROVAL of payment of the bills received through April 30 and paid on April 30 after auditing by the Operations Committee on May 1, 2001 . Approval of checks issued for vouchers : Date Check Numbers Amount 4/30/01 511974-512206 $ 599, 774 . 86 4/30/01 512207-512715 2 , 612 , 098 . 83 $3 , 211, 873 . 69 Approval of checks issued for payroll for April 1 through April 15 and paid on April 20, 2001 . Date Check Numbers Amount 4/20/01 Checks 251228-251569 $ 272 , 446 . 15 4/20/01 Advices 110218-110875 1 , 028 , 449 . 61 $1, 300 , 895 . 76 (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11A) Tax Rates in Kent Versus Rest of King County. Robert O' Brien, said he had received a King County property tax chart which shows that Kent' s tax rate is the third highest in the County. The increases that have been forecast for 2001 run as high as a 21 . 9% for Skykomish and as low as 0 . 8% for Redmond. Kent took a 2 . 3% increase. Every year the expression is heard that your taxes are not going up because the City is lowering the rate . He stated the taxes are still going up and not only is there increase in the property tax, the legislature is raising the gas tax, and the power company and the garbage utility are raising their rates . O'Brien declared that we need to start going in the positive direction of decreases in dollars, and one thing that would be beneficial would be to have no more further adventures into real estate speculation such as the Borden Property. The interest on that will come to about $1, 000, 000 a year before the project gets off the ground. 11 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 FINANCE Clark responded to O'Brien' s comments, stating that converting the Borden property to high commercial value property would lower the actual tax base for the citizens of Kent . O'Brien countered by saying the City would not receive property taxes while the City owned the property. Mayor White stated that City administration had never said that property taxes weren' t going up. They have said that the City has systematically, over the past five years, lowered the City' s portion of the overall tax. The rate for this year is the lowest in the past 10 years . The City has no control over property evalua- tions; that comes from the King County Assessor' s Office . Brotherton explained that the property tax rate in Kent is around $15 per $1, 000 assessed value. Of that amount Kent controls $3 . 01 . The rate the City charges has gone done every year for the last five years. The rest of the rate is mainly controlled by the school district, with some by the state and some by the county. Kent controls about 20% . Orr requested copies of the tax chart information from Mr. O'Brien for Council inspection. O'Brien gave a copy to Orr. After looking at the property tax chart, Orr noted that the levy rate in the year 2000 in the City of Kent was $14 . 82 per $1, 000 . The levy rate in the year 2001 was $14 . 13 , indicating the rate had actually gone down. Amodt said it all boils down to semantics . Kent lowers its levy rate each year, and each year she has proposed that it be changed from 3 . 01% to 3%, which would even out the City of Kent' s portion so homeowners would not be paying more. She said it' s good the City has decreased the levy rate each year, but if the City decreased it slightly more, then the citizens of Kent wouldn' t be paying any additional tax. The dollar rate has increased because the value of homes keeps increas- ing by King County' s levy rates. Kent' s rate should be lowered just enough so our citizens break even rather than paying more each year. 12 Kent City Council Minutes May 15, 2001 REPORTS Council President. Orr welcomed Mike Martin, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, and said she looked forward to working with him. She also thanked Chief Angelo for bringing the story and award for Ali Burns . Operations Committee. Yingling congratulated Finance Director May Miller and her staff for the award they had received. He said they make the complex budget very understandable and readable. Yingling related that the Operations Committee had received the baseline Ten Year Forecast Budget Model, and suggested that the other Councilmembers get a copy of that . Suggestions for future planning issues could be provided to see what effects they might have on a long-term forecast . He noted that the next Operations Committee meeting would be June 5, 2001 at 4 : 00 PM. Public Works. Clark noted the next Public Works Committee meeting would be on June 4 , 2001, at 5 : 00 PM. Planning Committee. Brotherton said the Planning Committee would meet on June 4 , 2001, at 4 : 00 PM. ADJOURNMENT At 7 :45 PM, Orr moved to adjourn the meeting. Yingling seconded and the motion carried. aaciek Bicknell City Council Secretary 13